Corn harvester and shocker.



N6. 666,146. Patentad 1an. l5. mol. H. J. HEGWER.

CORN HARVESTER AND SI-IUGKER.

(Applicaton' lad June 23, 1900.)

Y (No Model.) 2 Sheets-Sheet I.

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.N @mw No. 666.I40. Patented Ian. l5, |90I. H..l J. HEGWER.

conn HARVESTER A nn sHocKEn.

(A'pplication led June 23, 1900.) (No llodel.) 2 Sheets-Sheet 2.

Wfiinesses Invenar J-Llffegwer' 'By fw@ TH: Nnms PETERS co. PHoTauTHa.wAsNwGToN, n. c,

Nrrnn STATES PATENT Fries.

HERMAN J. HEGWER, OF COTTONWOODFALLS, KANSAS.

yCORN HARVESTER AND .SHOCKER SPECIFICATION forming part of LettersPatent No. 666,140, dated January 15, 1901.

Application filed .Tune 23, 1900. Serial No. 21,273. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that. I, HERMAN J. HEGWER, a citizen of the United States,and a resident of Cottonwood Falls,Chase county,State of Kansas, haveinvented a new and useful Corn Harvester and Shocker, of which thefollowing is a specification.

My invention relates to corn harvesters and shockers; and my object isto produce a machine of this character which can be operated by one man,is rapid and efficient, and which embodies the advantageous features ofsimplicity, strength, durability, and cheapness of construction.

With this object in View the invention consists in certain novel andpeculiar features of construction and combinations of parts, ashereinafter described and claimed, and in orderthat it may be fullyunderstood reference is to be had to the accompanying drawings, inwhich- Figure 1 is a top plan view of a machine embodying my invention.Fig. 2 is a vertical section taken on the line II II of Fig. 1. Fig. 3is an enlarged cross-section of one of the parallel tracks and shows afront view of one section of the sliding cradle mounted thereon, saidsection being taken on the dotted line III III of Fig. 1.

Referring to the drawings in detail, 1 designates a low-down horizontalplatform provided with the forwardly-projecting parallel portions 1a and2a, so as to form between them forwardly-opening recesses 2 in line withthe growing corn, as indicated at a, the central portion or tongue 1abeing of greater dimensions than the side portions 2a, which latter arecurved, as at 2f, to facilitate the entrance of corn growing out of lineinto recesses 2. The front end of tongue 1a is swiveled upon a caster 3,and the body portion of the platform rests upon the depressed portion ofthe drop-axle 4, the carrying-Wheels 5, journaled upon the ends of saidaXle, being provided with large bevel gear-wheels 6 at their innersides.

Mounted upon the upper end of the castel'- standard is a cross-bar 7,and pivoted thereon are the thills or shafts 8, connected by cross-bar9. A three-horse evener consists of the levers l0, pivoted to the underside of the platform nearer their outer than their inner ends, as at 11,the singletree 12, chained, as at 13, to the inner ends of said levers,and the singletrees 14, chained, as at l5, to the outer ends of saidlevers, the arrangement being such that the central horse, which ispulling against the outside horses, has a double leverage upon each. Asa result the labor is equalized on the animals.

16 designates two series of curved bars which are preferably formed bybending wire rods at their centers. These bars are arranged verticallyone above the other at each side and overhang the recesses 2, so as toform arcs of which the parallel sides of the tongue 1a form the chords.The points of one set of said bars most remote from the correspondingpoints of the other are about in the center of said recess, andtherefore in longitudinal alinement with the adjacent rows of corn, andfrom said points they curve inward, so that in conjunction with thecurved ends 2 of the platform they shall form flaring mouths to insurethe proper entrance of the corn, and from the same point said barsconverge rearward and meet, by preference, at a point midway between thesides of the machine and some distance rearward of said recesses. Saidguide-bars 16 preferably occupi7 horizontal planes and are carried bythe vertical standards 17 and 18, secured, respectively, to the tongue 1and the body portion of the platform.

A guide and supporting frame comprises the vertical standards 19,erected upon the front ends of the platform portions 2a, thecorresponding standards 20, erected upon the body portion of tneplatform near its rear end, and the parallel tracks 21, connecting saidstandards, there being preferably two tracks at each side, and mountedupon each track, opposite recesses 2, is a pair of collars 22, providedwith set-screws 23, for a purpose which hereinafter appears. The frontcollars are provided with sectors 24, having vertical and horizontalnotches 25 and 26, said sectors extending at right angles to the tracks.

A cradle or shock-forming frame consists of two sets of rods 27, oneabove the other, each set consisting of two rods disposed 1ongitudinallyof the machine in the same horizontal plane and consisting of a straightfront portion and a curved orquadrant-shaped rear i sition, as shownclearly in Fig. 1.

portion, one of the rear portions of each set terminating in an eye 28and the other in a pin 29, detachably interlocking with said eyes. Thestraight or front portions of said U- shaped cradle are journaled in thecollars 22 above tracks 21 and at their front ends terminate inupwardly-projecting arms or levers 30, normally engaging notches 25 ofthe sectors 24, but adapted to be swung downward to a position at rightangles to the vertical and be engaged with notches 26 of said sectors.By said action they rotate the sections of the cradle upwardly andoutwardly, thereby effecting the disconnection of eyes 28 with pins 29,and hold said sections with their curved ends projecting verticallyupward, as shown in dotted lines, Fig. 3. The object of thismanipulation of the cradle or shock-forming frame is hereinafterexplained, and in order to prevent the same from slipping longitudinallyin collars 22 the straight portions are provided with rigid collars orenlargements 31, bearing against opposite ends of collars 22.

Mounted centrally upon the rear end oftongue 1a is a pair of parallelstandards 32, connected near their upper ends bya bar 33, and projectingrearward from the rearmost standard 32is a series of wedge-blocks 34,one set being located in the plane of bar 33 and the other setpreferably above said bar. A pair of longitudinally-extending horizontalrack-bars 35 and 36 are mounted in the upper ends of standards 32 andbetween the wedgeblocks, rack-bar 35 having its teeth downwardlydisposed and arranged between the wedge-blocks forming the upper set,while rack-bar 36 has its teeth upwardly disposed and is arrangedbetween the wedge-blocks of the lower set. Said rack-bars arehorizontally bifurcated at Itheir rear ends, as at 37, and each carriesin its bifurcated end a shockforming plunger consisting of a pair ofintersecting bars 38, pivoted to each other and to the rear ends of therack-bars at their points of intersection. Forward of said pivotalpoints the lower bar terminates in an upwardly-projecting lug 39 and theupper bar terminates in a depending lug 39, said lugs being adapted tobear against the opposing sides of the companion bars to limit theexpansive or opening movement of the plu nger, as shown clearly inFig. 1. In the actual operation one of these plungers usually occupiesits extreme forward position at the moment the other occupies itsextreme rearward po- The plungers when moving forward are collapsed orclosed by contact with the corn to the position shown in Fig. l, and asthey engage the wedge-blocks 34 they are partially opened or expanded,so as to be ready for their next rearward movement, as is hereinaftermore particularly referred to. To effect the reciprocatory movement ofsaid rack-bars, I provide cog-pinion 40, provided witha handle 41, andcog-pinion 42, provided with a handle 43, the shafts of said pinionsbeing journaled on bar 33, with the pinion 40 engaging rack-bar 35 andpinion 42 engaging rack-bar 36.

44 designates vertical shafts journaled upon the platform at the outercorners of recesses 2, and 45 rotary knives mounted rigidly thereon justabove the stationary oblique knives 46, secured upon the platform,projecting forwardly from the outer corners or recesses 2 to the tonguela. Said shafts are provided with the bevel-gears 47, meshing with thegears 48, mounted upon shafts 49, journaled in standards 50, secured tothe platform and carrying sectors 51. Bevelgears 52 mesh with and aredriven by-master-gears 6 and are journaled upon shafts 49, and in orderthat the latter may be rotated when desired said gears 52 are providedwith clutch-sections 53, adapted to be engaged by the companionclutch-sections 54, mou nted to slide upon and rotate with shafts 49.Levers 55, pivored on the sector-arms 51 and to said slidableclutch-sections, are provided with dogs 56 to engage the sectors andgriplevers 57, connected to said dogs for the purpose of withdrawing thelatter from engagement with the sectors when desired.

At suitable points shafts 44 are provided with sprocket-wheels 53,arranged in the same horizontal plane as the similar sprocketwheels 59and 60, the former being journaled upon the standards orshafts 6l,nearthe front ends of platform portions 2a, and the latter upon shafts 62,rearward and inward of recesses 2 and within the U -shaped cradle.Connecting said sprocket-wheels is an endless con veyer comprisingchains 63, provided with outwardly-projecting pins 64, that portion ofthe chains extending from the sprockets 59 to sprockets 60 convergingrearwardly with and by preference underlying part of the curvedguide-bars 16, said portions of the chains diverging with relation tothe rear ends of said guide-bars, and in order to prevent corn beingcarried around by the conveyer and outward, as indicated by the arrows,Fig. l, I provide a series of guard or deflecting bars 65, connectingshafts 62 with the vertical standards 66, erected upon the platformoutward of guide-bars 2l and rearward of bevel-gears 52.

In practice it is obvious that the rotation of the carrying-wheels 5imparts continuous motion to the rotary knives 45 and the endless chains63 as long as the clutches are in operative relation.

Assuming now that the machine is traveling across the field, asindicated ih Fig. 1, it will be noticed that the corn first comes incontact with the curved guide-bars 16 and is then engaged by the pins 64of the intersecting and rearwardly-moving portions of the conveyers andis forced thereby against the stationary knives or blades 46, which inmost cases completely cut the corn. In some cases, perhaps, conditionswill be such that the corn will press said parts of the chain outwardlyand slide along the edge of the IOO IIO

knife without becoming totally severed until it comes within the sphereof the rotary knives, which will instantly and reliably complete thecut. The severed stalks being pressed by the chain against the parallelguide-bars 16 are held in a substantially vertical position before andafter being cut and after the cutting operation are conveyed in the sameposition rearwardly and discharged in a standing position against therear or curved end of the U-shaped cradle or shock-forming frame. Shouldone of the stalks stick to the chain, it will be knocked oft by thedeliectors 65 and, being confined in the space represented by b,cannottopple over, but is held upright within the cradle. As theoperation continues the corn accumulates in space b to such an extentthat the operator grasps the handle of the at this time advancedrack-bar and forces it rearward, this action by the resistance of thecorn which has accumulated between the plunger-arms causing the plungerto expand partially and slide the cradle rearwardly upon tracks 2l, theset-screws 23 binding on the tracks with sufficient `friction only toprevent the weight of the corn itself from pushing the cradle rearward.As the nowenlarged space b again lls up the operator forces the saidplunger rearward again, and consequently enlarges the space Z7 b'y acorresponding movement on the part of the cradle. Eventually the cradleassumesa position substantially as shown in dotted lines, Fig. l, bywhich time the plunger is totally expanded and a large shock is standingupon the rear end of the platform. The driver now stops the machine andties the shock in the usual manner. 30 (see Fig. 3) and throws them fromthe position shown in full to the position shown in dotted lines, andthereby partially operates and disengages the sections of the cradlefrom the shock. He then slides said sections forwardly until they canagain be brought to the horizontal and interlocked position withoutinterfering with the shock, after which he pushes the cradle forwarduntil it has attained its original position, as shown in full lines,Fig. l. He then starts the machine up again, and as the corn isautomatically cut and deposited in a vertical position within the cradlehe operates the proper handle and moves the expanded plunger rearwarduntil it has pushed the shock off the rear end of the platform, and asthe platform is so close to the ground the shock is dropped thereon in astanding position. He then reverses the operation ol' said handle andmoves the expanded plunger forward, and as it reaches the space l) inwhich the corn is accumulating the pressure of such corn effects itscollapse.. Should a stalk or two of corn get between the front. ends ofthe plunger, the attendant can easily push them out, so that as thecollapsed plunger reaches the forward end of its movement and engageswedge-blocks 34 it is re- He then grasps handles 4 expanded slightly, soas to be' ready for the next rearward movement, and in this connectionit might be stated that while I have shown two rack-bars and plungersthe machine can be operated satisfactorily with only one set of thesedevices. The remaining operations are repetitions of the ones described.

From the above description it will be apparent that I have produced acorn harvester and shocker which embodies the features of advantageenumerated as desirable in the statement of invention and which may besusceptible of Various modifications as regai-ds the form, proportion,arrangement, and detail construction of the parts without departing fromthe spirit or scope or sacrificing any of the advantages of theinvention.

Having thus described the invention, what I claim as new, and desire tosecure by Letters Patent, is-

l. In a machine of the character described, a wheeled frame,guide-tracks mounted thereon, and a cradle, comprising collars mountedslidingly upon said tracks, the front collars being formed with notchedsectors, and two arms or sections journaled in said collars anddetachably interlocked at their rear or meeting ends, and each providedat its front end with a crank to engage one notch or the other of thecorresponding collar-sector, substantially as and for the purposedescribed.

2. In a machine of the character described, a wheeled frame,guide-tracks mounted thereon, a cradle, comprising collars mountedslidingly upon said tracks,the front collars being formed with notchedsectors, and two arms or sections journaled in said collars anddetachably interlocked at their rear or meeting ends, and each providedat its front end with a crank to engage one notch or the other ot thecorresponding collar-sector, and means to longitudinally reciprocate thecradle, in whole or in part, substantially as described.

3. In a machine of the characterdescribed, a wheeled frame, guide-tracksmounted thereon, acradle, comprising collars mounted slidingly upon saidtracks', the front collars being formed with notched sectors, and twoarms or sections journaled in said collars and detachably interlocked attheir rear or meeting ends, and each provided with a crank to engage onenotch or the otherof the corresponding collar-sector, means tolongitudinally reciprocate the cradle, in whole or in part, a guide andan endless conveyer carried by the machine and arranged near their frontends to receive and engage the growing corn, and at their rear ends todischarge the harvested corn into the cradle in an upright position, acutting mechanism below said guide and conveyer, mounted on the machineand adapted to sever the corn forced against it by the conveyer, andaguard extending outwardly from the rear end of the conveyer to.intercept and thereby prevent the corn delivered into the cradle frombeing drawn forward by the conveyer, substantially as described.

IIO

4. In a machine of the character described, a Wheeled frame, amovablecradle -to receive and support the harvested corn in an uprightposition, a plunger to engage the corn in the cradle, a rack-barextending forwardly from the plunger, a guide-frame for the saidrackbar, a cog-wheel engaging the rack-bar and journaled upon saidframe, and a handle for operating said cog-wheel, substantially asdescribed.

5. In a machine of the character described, a Wheeled frame, a cradlesupporting the harvested corn in an upright position, a reciprocatorybar, a plunger carried at the rear end of said bar, consisting of armspivoted together and to the bar and having their front HERMAN J. HEGWER.

Witnesses:

ELMER JOHNSTON, E. B. JOHNSTON.

